There was a space Where weeds were growing A promising spot Where neglect was showing.
So the Nursing Home Auxiliary Started a No-Show-Fundraiser And hundreds of givers Gave to hire the labor
Weeds were removed And a concrete pad was poured A pergola was built The residents and staff were floored!
The pergola looked bare So barn quilts were added Flowers in the flower bed Some benches (no, not padded)
The Lion’s Club bought the benches For a sprinkler system the MV Woman’s Club paid A resident’s daughters donated the flowers Amazing improvements were made
This inviting space brought joy To the residents and staff alike More flowers and colors were added It matched all the fundraising hype
This Friday there will be an Open House A Thank You for all the kind folks Who gave to make this possible Come have a look and share Rootbeer Floats
That’s as close as I could come to a rootbeer float!
Well, they won’t be THAT fancy!!
Ecclesiates 3:11
“He has made everything beautiful in His time.”
We are making everything beautiful in our time, too!
Come and visit our beautiful, inviting, peaceful space. We’d love to sit a spell and chat with you!
2:00 to 4:00 PM Friday, June 30 Madison Valley Manor 211 N Main St. Ennis, MT 59729 madisonvalleymanor.com
Oh, the beauty of the earth Is astounding day by day Don’t take it for granted Ot it may fade away!
The Tetons – and the oh so beautiful river
Montana wildflower hike
The Hardwick’s Montana sunset
(Psalm 98:7-9) “Let the sea roar, and all that fills it; the world and those who dwell in it! Let the rivers clap their hands; let the hills sing for joy together before the Lord, for he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world with righteousness, and the peoples with equity.”
Have a gorgeous day wherever you are Enjoy this beautiful earth The sea, the mountains, the sun and stars… And praise our God Who made them all.
Porcelain dancers – Gift from Mom: “You’re forever these!”
She gifted me On my fortieth.
The Septolet is a poem consisting of seven lines containing fourteen wordswith a break anywhere in between the two parts. Both parts deal with the same thought and create a picture.
My porcelain girls are a 1979 gift from my mom for my 40th birthday. Created by German artist, Lorenz Hutschenreut, they are called “Ring Around the Rosie” – This 3 Girls May Day dance figurineis priceless to me!
Mom knitted my sweater, fixed my hair, arranged for the photographer, captured our love forever in this photo.
But, the real capture of love for me was more than just in my childhood… She continued to gift me with her strength, her optimism, and her encouragement for the rest of her life.
When I take out my dancing girls and decorate the vase with flowers, I am taken back to my fortieth, back to my childhood, back to time with Mom.
What a treasure!
Here Mom is with my sis, Sally, and me – – – and my daughter, DeDe. I like to think that we three are the “Dancing Girls.”
Ah, such sweet memories!
Do you have a special item of some sort that brings you back to your childhood?
Something that’s priceless to you because of the memories packed into it?
Tell me about it. Maybe try your hand at a septolet!
The scriptures and the devotionals that popped up this week all point the way to our preparation for spring. Get ready! Be prepared! Make way for the new!! It will come, won’t it? Eventually?
I am more than ready for our ice (used to be snow) piles to melt and allow the bulbs to wake up and begin to sprout!
Isaiah 43:16,18-19-
This is what the Lord says, “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing…”
But, I do remember those former things!!
These were the last of them from last spring.
I am ready to hang my spring wreath and I am ready to “Spring Up!” my clocks tonight in preparation for Daylight Savings Time.
I am ready to keep that time schedule all year round to give us more hours of daylight in our waking hours. How about you?
Get ready for a sunny Sunday! I am ready for more sunshine. How about you?
I love it when my friend, Lisa, sends me photos of her sunrises above the lake near her home in North Carolina.
I’m ready for a ride on “Lucille” (our redheaded ATV who is a “Ball”) into the springtime wildflowers on our mountain trails around here.
Right now, looks like that’s a couple months away.
This year we won’t have our TazE (our beloved Boston Terrier traveled over the Rainbow Bridge last December. We miss her!) to keep us company on our rides. She was sure a great trail companion!
We saw some mighty PURDY sites together on those rides! Sometimes we’d take the trail all the way over to Pony, Montana, the cute little town northwest of us where there is a cute little tavern. We’d meet our other ATV friends there.
So, get ready, my friends. Make way for the realization of those dreams once more when we can take that ride again!
For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal (that’s my time right now); a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh (that’s ALWAYS now!); a time to mourn, and a time to dance (let’s do!!); a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace (let’s do that, too), and a time to refrain from embracing; …
May your storms diminish and your sunshine increase; May your troubles decrease and your joys abound.
May your eyes clearly see the beauty all around you. God bless you, my friends. Make way for those blessings! They are coming! Rest assured!!
Love and Lotsa Hugs, JanBeek
P.S. My eyes are healing after the cataract surgery last week. Thank you for your prayers. The farsighted vision is bright and clear – beautiful colors. Single lens replacement instead of the multiple variety was my only option. It has to do with the age of these tired 83 year old eyes and the shape they were in. But I’m not complaining. Another follow-up appointment is scheduled in 3 weeks. I’ll keep you posted. Thinking positively!
Tin Yan Chans art is amazing. I was inspired to create this poem after enjoying his works.
Deep within the Rockies Where no traffic flows Is a peaceful hidden lake Where gorgeous lupine grows
The lake is filled with fish And if you know your way, You can walk to find real joy Come join me friends, let’s play
The lake is beautiful in every season You can visit it for no reason Other than to enjoy its beauty Ot wait til its trees are fruity
It’s an artist’s paradise The scenery is always nice Sit quietly and wait for the butterflies Look carefully – they’re a sight for sore eyes!
Claudia at Humoring the Goddess did some research and shared the fact that Tin Yan Chan, a master artist, had his God-given talents recognized in Canada in the late 20th century. She wrote, “… at 16 he was admitted to the Wuhan South Central China Academy of Fine Arts.”
I am so fascinated by this artist’s work that I intend to do a little research of my own. His website shows several additional paintings and about a dozen in a section labeled “sold.” Wouldn’t you enjoy having one of his masterpieces in your home?
Tin Van Chan has developed his artistic talent and made his creations available to the world. What talent do YOU have that you’ve developed and generously shared?
“When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, ‘I used everything you gave me’.” Erma Bombeck
Today I used my rusty talent (playing the accordion) at church. Our pianist was unable to attend, so I was asked to step up. My accordion has been dropped and some of the keys sound a bit weird – but I stepped up and did my best. Hopefully it was better than trying to sing all the hymns A Cappella!
An easier talent to share is the one that has a harder time getting rusty: Teaching! On Tuesdays I share my love of scripture with my 10-year-old friend, Hailey, and in the evening with my lady friends at our local nursing home. Through the years I have developed my spiritual gift of teaching, and as you have heard many times, I’m sure, “Once a teacher, always a teacher.” Like Erma Bombeck, I want to “use everything [God] gave me.” Our talents are given to us to be shared.
So, share your talent Your talent’s God’s gift to you It’s meant to be shared.
For many of you, it’s writing prose or poetry. For some of you, it’s photography. For others, it’s music or public speaking. I really appreciate those whose talent is fixing my car or unplugging the drain on my sink! Some are math wizards or skilled carpenters> All God’s gifts of talent are meant to be shared, What’s yours?
Share with me what talent you thank God for giving to you. How are you sharing it?
Seeing the falls he named in honor of his queen, David Livingstone wrote in his journal, “Scenes so lovely must have been gazed upon by angels in their flight.”
Waterfalls and all God’s natural beauty affect me the same way. This country of Switzerland is so full of those “scenes so lovely.”
Waterfalls and bridges in Switzerland amaze me!Chalets with lovely flowers aboundThis was on the way to Zinal yesterday But De & André’s is the best!
As we venture out, the lovely scenes are amazing in every season here.
Tania at Hotel Weisshorn – photo by Mike Solioz – taken last autumnWay back when … we climbed waaay up with DeDe.
Scenes so lovely!
Flowers are abundant in private gardens and public places. André’s croûtes au fromage (potato or bread w cheese, etc.) is a Valaisan specialty. It’s a “scene so lovely” too!
André and De are so generous as they share their chalet, meals, transportation and their love with us and with De’s best buddy (our daughter #2 Laina) and her daughter Katy. What a grand reunion we had with them here yesterday!
Katy, Laina, me, Bob & DeDe
Hebrews 13:16 “Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.”
Last night Mike & Tania joined us for a fun evening of raclette & karaoke. Chris & Nick and their girlfriends came, too. Ah, we are so blessed with this wonderful Swiss family!
Thanks for joining me and sharing these “Scenes so Lovely” today. Wish you were here in person! Come back tomorrow, okay? See ya then (God willing).
